What Colour Tent Is Coolest In Hot Weather? [Quick Answer]

When you’re camping in the height of summer, you might want to pitch your tent away from the trees and any other source of shade. After all, you want to make the most of the sunlight during your holiday, right? 

However, once you actually spend a few hours camping in the baking sun, enjoying the fresh air, you might not understand how hot the inside of your tent can get.

Until, that is, you walk into the tent and are blown away by the intense trapped heat. 

what colour tent is coolest in hot weather

Prepare yourself for what we’re about to say - darker-colored tents are good for hotter weather. This is due to the fact that dark-colored tents often have higher protection from harmful UV rays. 

However, if you’re trying to keep your tent as cool as possible, you might want to opt for a light color such as white, yellow, or orange.

These will reflect light better, although they won’t block as many UV rays and therefore could be more dangerous than you realize. 

Dark blue tents are the best option if you want to block UV rays. They’re not as dark as black tents and therefore won’t absorb as much of the sunlight, but they are much safer than lighter-colored tents. 

That being said, to answer the original question, the lighter the tent is the cooler it is going to be in hot weather. So, white tents are best to be used in hot weather. 

Do black tents get hotter?

Yes, black tents do get hotter quickly when positioned in the sun and therefore are best for camping in the cooler seasons. The color black absorbs much more light and therefore heat from the sun than white will.

This is due to the fact that the color white reflects light rather than absorbing it. 

The longer the black tent is left in the sun, the more heat will be absorbed and become trapped in the tent. Most tents are not very breathable to remain waterproof and protective in worse weather conditions.

So, once the heat has been absorbed into the tent, it will be trapped there until you open the door and allow it to escape. 

When camping in the cooler months, the fact that the tent absorbs as much heat as possible can be a good thing. However, summertime camping can be slightly hindered when using a black-colored tent. 

Black tents will only get hotter when they are left in the sun. If your tent is not positioned in the sunlight, a black tent will be no hotter than a white tent in the same position.

So, it is not impossible for you to use a black tent when camping in summer. You will just need to position it in a shaded area to avoid the trapped heat. 

As we mentioned before; however, black tents are often much more effective at protecting you and your family from UV rays.

UV rays can cause sunburn, premature aging, and eye problems. So, this is a benefit that many people look for in a tent. 

What color canopy is the coolest?

As we mentioned before, a white canopy will be coolest due to the fact that white reflects the majority of the sunlight.

This allows the light and heat to bounce off of the canopy rather than being absorbed and brought closer to the people underneath the canopy. 

However, not everyone wants to use a white tent.

The white material is often less opaque than darker colors, allows more light through the canopy to wake you up as soon as the sun rises, and can get dirty very quickly when being used in the great outdoors. 

So, if you don’t want a white canopy but still want to remain cool underneath it, you can opt for a bright colored canopy instead.

Bright colors find a happy medium between reflecting light and protecting people underneath from UV rays. 

Brightly colored tents, such as yellow, red, orange, and green, will reflect a good amount of sunlight away from the canopy rather than absorbing it, while also protecting you from some of the harmful UV rays. 

Bright colored tents also don’t get dirty as quickly as white canopies, they offer you more protection, and aren’t as see-through as white canopies. They are also easily spotted in the dark so that you don’t lose your pitch. 

The coolest to warmest canopy colors are as listed below: 

  • White
  • Yellow
  • Orange
  • Light Green 
  • Light Blue
  • Red
  • Purple
  • Dark Green
  • Dark Blue 
  • Indigo
  • Brown 
  • Black

Opting for a white canopy can be good for people who are going to be sitting underneath it for a few hours out of the day.

It will keep you cooler than a black canopy, that’s for sure! Just remember to wear sunscreen to avoid the unwanted effects of UV rays.

Andrew Mullen

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